I owed a debt to May Department Stores, now purchased by Macy's, of a little over $2000. They sued me back in 2005. I, luckily, had an attorney. He validated the debt and we made an offer to settle for $800. They countered for $1300. We countered again for $1100. Their attorney said they would get back to us.
In 2006, after months of no response from May/Macy's, my attorney informed me that the case had been dismissed. A few months later, Macys began sending me new billing statements for the full amount.
In 2007, the debt went to a new debt collecter, Titan Management LLC.